With a glimmering blade in hand, we head back to the forest for more swordplay shenanigans and epic romance. Loosely based on Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s short stories ‘Rashomon’ and ‘In A Grove’ (most famously adapted for the screen by Akira Kurosawa in 1950), Tajomaru stars Shun Oguri (Sukiyaki Western Django), Kyosuke Yabe (Samurai Zombie) and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi (Ip Man), available now on R2 DVD courtesy of Manga Entertainment.

Two brothers, Naomitsu and Nobutsuna Hatakeyama, are born into a wealthy and powerful family and both destined for greatness. However, when the father of their lifelong friend dies, a decree is made that has a profound effect on all their lives. The conditions of the decree force Nobutsuna to betray his brother by taking Ako as his own in order to inherit her late father’s wealth and position. However, driven by his love for Ako, Naomitsu gives up his life of privilege and instead flees with her into the remote forested mountain region where he believes they will be safe. It sounds simple on paper but to say Hiroyuki Nakano’s delivery is confused is like suggesting that Donnie Yen knows how to do romance...Continue reading review.

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